September 2017

Archive for September 2017

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Many Nigerians are religious, but ungodly —Pastor Awojide

Mercy Lank

Vice-President of The Apostolic Church Nigeria, Pastor Emmanuel Awojide, has described Nigeria as a country with many religious, but ungodly people. Speaking with journalists at the 82nd annual convention of the Kaduna area of the church, shortly after a sermon on the theme, Come Thou and All Thy House into the Ark, Pastor Awojide, who lamented the spate of corruption,

however expressed the hope that the country could be better if the people elected to be godly, rather than religious. Expressing his disagreement with the calls for restructuring, pointing out that it was against the wish of God for the country to be divided. He also assured Nigerians that there would be no bloodshed in 2019, as against some insinuations regarding the elections.

“As men of God, we will continue to pray against evil, and we believe that God’s mercy will come upon the country and the people. Therefore we must respond to God’s hand of mercy to avoid evils,” he stated.

Buhari's Government Requested For User Information From Facebook, Google And Twitter

Mercy Lank

A new report has confirmed what many Nigerians have long suspected to be true: that the federal government is spying on its citizens through the social media and email accounts. The report titled, “The Growing Trend of African Government’s Requests for User Information and Content Removal from Internet and Telecoms Companies,” was released last month by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) established under the Catalysing Access to Information and Communications Technologies in Africa (CATIA) initiatives funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

The organization analyzed transparency reports released by telecommunications and social media companies. The reports by these companies including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter and others showed that there has been a surge in African governments’ requests for user information. According to the report, African governments’ requests are for subscribers’ data, content preservation, and content removal. Facebook listed Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Sudan as the African countries that made the highest requests. The social media giant said that the government of Nigeria had specified the highest number of user information on its user information requests with 113 accounts.

South Africa made 32 requests for user accounts, Egypt (31) and Sudan (24). Facebook said that Nigeria also made requests for content in six user accounts to be preserved. It said that Nigeria made requests for 96 users’ information during the second half of 2015, meaning that the requests were made after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office on May 29, 2015. The report stated: “It is worth noting that the number of requests to Facebook by African governments is small when compared to the United States of America which made nearly 50,000 user information requests relating to over 80,000 user accounts and 69,437 preservation requests in 2016. “Facebook’s compliance rate with the U.S.’ requests last year was over 80 percent.” Tech giant, Google, also declared that Nigeria in 2015 made requests to it. Google launched the first transparency report in 2009, followed by Twitter in 2012, and Facebook and Yahoo in 2013. The report stated: “Since 2013, Google has received user information requests from 10 African countries – Algeria, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, The Seychelles and South Africa.

“Over three years, Kenya made the highest number of user information requests to Google – 21 relating to 32 user accounts – followed by South Africa and Nigeria. v “Aside from eight requests made by the Kenya government during the second half of 2013 relating to 11 user accounts, of which Google complied with 63 percent, all the other requests were rejected. “Nigeria is the only government in Africa to have made a user information request to Google and it was fully complied with. The emergency disclosure request was made by the Nigerian authorities in the second half of 2016 and it related to five user accounts.

“Google had rejected all of Nigeria’s seven previous requests,” it explained. Twitter, in its transparency declaration, stated that Nigeria made three emergency requests, of which two were complied with. It stated that the first request was made in the second half of 2015 while the second was made in the second half of 2016.

Evan's-Case: Police uncover Evan’s truck yard, arrest secretary

Mercy Lank

Men of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have reportedly uncovered a truck yard belonging to kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwumadike, a.k.a Evans.

Evans allegedly got the property from the proceeds of kidnapping. In another development, police detectives have arrested secretary to the billionaire criminal, Ngozika Ezeokoye, who went into hiding as soon as she learnt that police had nabbed her employer.

Now in police custody, Ngozika, told the police she never knew her boss was into kidnapping. The Sun Newspapers quoted her as saying, “I used to work with a bank till I retired because of the poor condition of work. I got a job with CMT motors in 2015. “Initially, our warehouse was in Apapa till they moved us to 235 Ago Palace way in Okota in 2016. My job was to take note of trucks that go to work, their destination and amount due for each trip.

“The company has eleven trucks and all the vehicles original documents in my possession. The name of my boss is George Onwuamadike and every money is paid into Chinwuba multi trade limited. “I was paid N70,000 a month. I only knew about it on TV. I did not run away, I only travelled to visit my uncle in the village when I received a call that I should bring the documents. I was planning to come to Lagos when the police arrested me.”

Trump: Poor leadership by San Juan mayor

Mercy Lank

President Donald Trump, in a series of tweets, criticized the leadership of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz,

who has begged for more federal assistance to help her hurricane-ravaged city, and accused her of partisanship

Okorocha gave me the worst advice during my presidency – Obasanjo

Mercy Lank

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has jokingly blamed Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, for “all the bad things” that happened to the country during his tenure between 1999 and 2007. Obasanjo was speaking in Owerri, at the graduation ceremony of students of Rochas Foundation.

He said the worst advice he got while in office was from Okorocha, one of his then advisers. “As you may all know, Rochas was one of the advisers I had when I was president,” he said. “All the bad things that happened to this country under my presidency was advised by Rochas Okorocha,” he said.

Obasanjo however extolled the qualities of the Governor, who he said never ceased to surprise him. “He (Okorocha) has never stopped to surprise me. He is a man of vision, of ideas. He is a thinking man. And when he explained to me his ideas about education, what he has done, I was marvelled. I doff my hat for you, Okorocha.

“Let me say this, the beginning of the development for any country is education. And the extent that we take education seriously, that is the extent that we take development seriously. “Rochas is not just dealing with education; he is dealing with education for the underprivileged in general. Which means that if the poor and the underprivileged will rise above their disadvantaged position, it is only through education.

“And with what I have seen today, I have no regret at all to accept his offer for me to be part of this wonderful programme and wonderful development agenda to our country and for our continent,” he added.

Tsav blasts El-rufai: ‘Stop distracting Buhari’

Mercy Lank

Former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Abubakar Tsav, has asked Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-rufai, to refrain from distracting President Muhammadu Buhari from providing good governance to the people. He made this demand in reaction to El-rufai’s endorsement of Buhari for Presidency in 2019.

Tsav told Sun: “He should not leave Buhari alone. El-Rufai and others in his group are distracting Buhari. El-Rufai should face governance in Kaduna State and allow Buhari to do his work. “El-Rufai is distracting Buhari by asking him or saying that Buhari would run in2019. It is too premature to be talking of 2019 now. “What El-Rufai doesn’t know or realize is that even though he and his fellow Buhari for 2019 campaigners are claiming to be Buhari’s friends, but in actual fact, they are doing a lot of harm to Buhari through their action and pronouncements.

“But what I know is that Buhari is not a man that anybody is capable of maneuvering through praise singing. He will do whatever he wants to do. “That’s why I even laugh when some people say or claim that Buhari is weak, and that a certain cabal has influenced him. “Buhari is not somebody that can be easily manipulated. He is somebody that believes in doing things right.”

Is Nnamdi Kanu Dead or Alive, British Government asks FG

Mercy Lank

The United Kingdom has asked the Federal Government of Nigeria to clarify the whereabouts and status of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. The British government through The Press Officer, UK high commission in Nigeria, Joe Abuku, said it had asked the Federal Government if the British national was alive or dead. The inquiry followed reports that Kanu had been missing since September 14, 2017 when armed soldiers stormed his residence in Abia State.

“We are seeking urgent clarification from the Nigerian authorities about the status and whereabouts of Mr. Kanu, a British-Nigerian man, who has been reported missing since September 14,” Abuku stated in an email on Thursday. When asked if the United Kingdom would strip Nnamdi Kanu of British citizenship on account of the declaration by Nigeria that he was leading a terrorist organisation, the mission said it does not comment on individual cases. “One of the conditions that can make the United Kingdom strip its citizen of nationality is if the person engages in a terrorist activity at home or abroad. And Kanu has dual citizenship and therefore a citizen of Nigeria and the UK,” the mission stated.

When asked if the UK supported the Nigerian government’s proscription of the IPOB, Abuku stated that the group was not a proscribed organisation under the British law. “The Indigenous People of Biafra is not a proscribed organisation in the UK,” the mission spokesperson stressed. However, when asked if the group was free to raise funds or hold rallies in Britain, Abuku said he would need to get an official response on that, but subsequently declined to respond to the question. He also declined comment on whether the IPOB might be designated as a terrorist group or proscribed by the British authorities.

Abuku said, “We do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription. A decision to proscribe an organisation must be based on a belief that it is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000, and it must be proportionate.” The United States had earlier said it did not consider IPOB a terrorist group and urged Nigerians to de-escalate tension and embrace peaceful resolution of grievances. Spokesperson for the American Embassy in Nigeria, Russell Brooks, had said, “Within the context of unity, we encourage all Nigerians to support a de-escalation of tension and peaceful resolution of grievances. The Indigenous People of Biafra is not a terrorist organisation under US law.”

South Africa: Russia Makes Room for Black SA Winemakers

Mercy Lank

Black-owned wine companies will get a foot into the Russian market when a group of importers visit South Africa next week. The four-day Russian Inward Buying Mission will start on Monday at the Invest South Africa Western Cape One Stop Shop. The delegation will also visit some of the farms and premises in various parts of the Western Cape during the mission.

The mission is a result of a meeting between South African Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Bulelani Magwanishe and the CEO of Marine Express, Andre Kuzmin, on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June. Marine Express is one of Russia's leading wine importing companies.

"Marine Express is undoubtedly one of Russia's leading importers and distributors of wine and liquor. Their distribution covers all of Russia's regions and goes through all distribution channels. Its clientele comprises of more than 400 customers located in more than 60 cities. These include retail chains, restaurants, hotels and wholesale companies," said Deputy Minister Magwanishe. He invited the CEO of Marine Express to South Africa with the specific objective of creating access to market for black-owned wine companies to enable them to export their wines to Russia.

Black and women-owned winemakers and brand owners from the Western Cape belonging to Treasure Chest will participate in the session. Treasure Chest comprises 14 black wine owners, 90% of whom are women. A wine co-operative from the Eastern Cape, as well as other stakeholders in the wine industry, will also be part of the session. "The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) supports the Treasure Chest project because it is a unique wine trade initiative that aims to address transformation in the wine industry and bring economic and social development to wine brand owners. "Their objectives of creating jobs and contributing to increasing the country's exports to achieve economic growth are in line with the department's mandate and objectives," Deputy Minister Magwanishe said.

Treat Nigerians equally to ensure unity, US Ambassador advises Buhari

Mercy Lank

THE United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stuart Symington has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to treat Nigerians as equals irrespective of their ethnic back ground

so as to ensure peace and unity of the nation. The Ambassador stated this in Benin City when he was hosted by Governor Godwin Obaseki at a dinner. He was in Benin City for an exhibition of photographs by Chief S. O. Alonge, a photographer of the Royal Court of Benin, organised by the United States Diplomatic Mission and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art at the National Museum, Benin City, Edo State. Mr.

Symington who also paid a visit to the Internally Displaced Peoples camp in Ohugua, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo state said with Nigeria’s population projected to climb to 450 million by 2050 amid concerns of rising youth restiveness and other socio-economic implications, the country would stand a better chance to exploit its potential by giving priority to justice administration,

girl-child education and delivery of good governance. According to him, despite the challenges that may come with a huge population, the onus lies on Nigerian leaders to carve a positive narrative for the country by being benevolent in handling issues of development and justice administration, adding that there was need to embrace everyone irrespective of where they come from, as members of a united Nigeria.

RED ALERT:Emir of katsina vows to fight for One Nigeria with his last Blood

Mercy Lank

The Emir of Katsina and Chairman, Katsina State Council of Emirates, His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr.) Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, has described the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) as agent of peace, unity and national integration. The royal father stated that Nigeria was in dire need of organisations such as Peace Corps, at a time the nation was sliding into deep crises as a result of insecurity, hate speeches, chauvinism, agitations, amongst others. The respected traditional ruler made the comments when he received the national officers of PCN and commandants from the 7 states of the northwest region on Thursday, September 28. His words: “Religious and tribal sentiments are the greatest enemies of this country. Until we learn how to tolerate each other, no matter the tribe or religion, we would not get it right in this country.” He said other states should learn from Katsina state, where the indigenes live happily with non – indigenes and Igbo and Yoruba having critical positions in the Emirates. “We should be one. We live side by side, we sit down side by side to eat and drink together here. Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Berom, we should remain united. Igbos and Yorubas are my brothers and sisters, I will use my last blood to fight for one Nigeria,” he added. On the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill which was recently passed by the National Assembly, the Emir pledged the total support of the Emirates in Council, urging the president to quickly assent to the Bill, to help empower the teeming youth and curtail social vices in the society. Earlier in his address, the National Commandant of the Corps, Dr Dickson Akoh, lauded the traditional ruler for championing the course of peace and mutual integration among the indigenes and the dwellers. While pledging total support of the Peace Corps Officers to the programmes of the Emirates that would further enhance peace and unity in the state, Akoh also appealed for the support of the traditional council and royal blessings for the speedy assent of the bill, which will soon be transmitted to the presidency by the National Assembly. The National Assembly had recently passed a Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Peace Corps, to give legal backing to the existing Peace Corps of Nigeria, under the leadership of Akoh. The event, which had the theme ‘Together for Peace: Respect, safety and dignity for all’, was organised at the instance of the Peace Corps of Nigeria. The minister of youth and sports development, Barrister Solomon Dalung, in his address, charged Nigerian youths to be ambassadors and soldiers of peace in whatever they do.

BIAFRA:GIVE US NNAMDI KANU STATUS ,WHERE ABOUT -UN DEMANDS FROM FG

Mercy Lank

The United Kingdom has asked the Federal Government to clarify the status and whereabouts of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

The British government said it had asked the government if the British national was alive or dead. However, it could not be immediately ascertained if the Federal Government had responded to the inquiries or not. The Press Officer, UK high commission in Nigeria, Joe Abuku, stated that the inquiry followed reports that Kanu had been missing since September 14, 2017 when armed soldiers stormed his residence in Abia State. Abuku said this in response to questions from Saturday seeking to know UK’s concern on the missing IPOB leader. “We are seeking urgent clarification from the Nigerian authorities about the status and whereabouts of Mr. Kanu, a British-Nigerian man, who has been reported missing since September 14,” Abuku stated in an email on Thursday. Asked if the UK would strip Kanu of citizenship on account of the declaration by Nigeria that he was leading a terrorist organisation, the mission said it does not comment on individual cases.

“One of the conditions that can make the United Kingdom strip its citizen of nationality is if the person engages in a terrorist activity at home or abroad. And Kanu has dual citizenship and therefore a citizen of Nigeria and the UK,” the mission stated. When asked if the UK supported the Nigerian government’s proscription of the IPOB, Abuku stated that the group was not a proscribed organisation under the British law. “The Indigenous People of Biafra is not a proscribed organisation in the UK,” the mission spokesperson stressed. However, when asked if the group was free to raise funds or hold rallies in Britain, Abuku said he would need to get an official response on that, but subsequently declined to respond to the question. He also declined comment on whether the IPOB might be designated as a terrorist group or proscribed by the British authorities. Abuku said, “We do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription. A decision to proscribe an organisation must be based on a belief that it is concerned in terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2000, and it must be proportionate.”

The United States had earlier said it did not consider IPOB a terrorist group and urged Nigerians to de-escalate tension and embrace peaceful resolution of grievances. Spokesperson for the American Embassy in Nigeria, Russell Brooks, had said, “Within the context of unity, we encourage all Nigerians to support a de-escalation of tension and peaceful resolution of grievances. The Indigenous People of Biafra is not a terrorist organisation under US law.” Igbo groups mobilise SANs to defend IPOB suspects Meanwhile, a pro-Igbo Group, Igbo National Council, says it is reaching out to lawyers, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria from the South-East, to defend arrested members of the IPOB. INC explained that the move was based on its members’ conviction that it was legally and morally wrong for the Federal Government to proscribe IPOB as a terrorist organisation. The president of the group, Chilos Godsent, Owerri, said that the pro-Biafra agitators had not violated any section of the constitution, and that INC would give the arrested IPOB members maximum support.

Godsent said, “The Igbo National Council at its last National Executive Council meeting held in Owerri on Friday, September 22, 2017, among other issues, resolved to reach out to progressive lawyers of Igbo extraction, including SANs, to discuss with them on the issue of volunteering to defend members of IPOB who were arrested during the Operation python Dance II in the South-East region. “INC was dismayed that the Federal Government, through the Attorney General of the Federation, has concluded plans to charge the alleged IPOB members for terrorism. INC notes that IPOB is not a terrorist organisation and members of IPOB have not willfully violated any section of the 1999 Constitution that guarantee the rights to peaceful assembly and the rights to form and belong to any association. “In view of the above, INC leadership and its contact committee have started reaching out to lawyers in that respect.” The group said it was aware that the top members of IPOB were also reaching out to many other lawyers for the same purpose and that on its own, the lawyers it had met with so far had indicated interest in defending the IPOB members arrested in the course of the struggle. Similarly, Concerned Igbo Unity Forum said that some of its members who are lawyers have volunteered to appear in court for the arrested IPOB members on pro bono basis. The chairman of the forum, Sixtus Nwoke, said, “There are lawyers who have volunteered to take up the case considering the general view that they are not a terrorist organisation. Our stand is to ensure the unity of the Igbo among themselves in any state or country of residence. “We equally ensure the safety of their lives and property during precarious times such as we are experiencing now.”

Military won’t declare Kanu wanted -DHQ The Defence Headquarters on Friday in Abuja said that it had no business declaring the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, wanted. At a briefing with journalists, the DHQ stated that Kanu was not in military custody and so they couldn’t be held accountable for him. The Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, who made the statement, also claimed that the military did not raid Kanu’s residence. He said, “Kanu is not in the custody of the military. It is not the responsibility of the DHQ to declare him wanted. “If the court says that if he does not show up for hearing, it will hold the military responsible, (then) let us wait till that time. “The military never raided Kanu’s house. I watched the whole operation live on that day. Even I don’t have any right to stop you while passing on a public route. I saw that the Biafran Security Service and the Biafran National Guards mounted roadblocks, and the soldiers came out peacefully and said, ‘Boys, let us pass’. But the Biafrans attempted to collect their guns. Nobody went to Kanu’s house or raided him or took him away.”

On the proscription of IPOB, the defence spokesperson said that the military was not involved in the process. He said, “The statement of the DHQ on IPOB’s activities is not opposed to what the army chief came out to say. Did we say IPOB was proscribed? No. But some people had a mindset and were in a hurry to attack the military. “The military did not proscribe IPOB; due process was followed before the proscription. What the military did was to diagnose the security elements and warn of consequences. The military also knows the law.” Enenche said that the military deployment in states all over the country was to complement the efforts of other security agencies.

He said, “The armed forces of Nigeria are not alarmed by the fear which some expressed that troops are deployed all over the country. The military see and analyse differently, while people see and analyse differently. “It is the military that can tell you the signs and symptoms of a security element. Other countries passed through what we are passing through before they got to their present developed state. “For days before Operation Python Dance II started, there were fears, not caused by the military, but by the propaganda of some persons.”

BREAKING!! Biafra : IPOB Members Protest In Israel

Mercy Lank

The Indigenous People of Biafra in Israel look to the state and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help them gain independence from Nigeria. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) held a protest in Tel Aviv Wednesday night calling for world aid in obtaining independence from Nigeria.

The Indigenous People of Biafra are made up mainly of Christians from the Igbo ethnic group who first tried to secede from Muslim-ruled Nigeria in the 1967-1970 civil war. The Biafran people admire the state of Israel and its history, and call on the state to help them reach freedom by endorsing their claim for independence in the United Nations.

Biafra: Orji Kalu gives position on agitation for secession

Mercy Lank

Former Governor of Abia, Dr Orji Kalu, has declared his opposition to agitation for Biafra. He, however, called for restructuring as a panacea to solving the problems facing the country. Kalu made the remark on Friday in a paper he presented at a Public Lecture organised by the Department of Social Sciences, University of Calabar. In his paper, entitled: ‘Devolution of Powers and the Future of Nigeria’, Kalu insisted that the only acceptable solution for Nigeria’s problems remained restructuring.

He said: “I believe fully in the unity of Nigeria. I am against those who call for the division of the country. There is no such provision as division in our Constitution. “If you look at all political or constitutional conferences we have had in this country since after independence, you will find that devolution of powers featured prominently but under different guise. “Therefore, like the Igbo people will say, where a child is crying and pointing at, if his father is not there, his mother must surely be there. “So, I think there is need for us to fully review the call for devolution of powers within the context of our current realities and as permissible by our constitution.

“Whether we call it resource control, Sovereign National Conference, Restructuring or by any other name, we are saying the same thing. “That we want power to devolve so that our states and local governments can have constitutional powers to do much more than they are doing today. “It is what the nation needs at the moment, to move forward.

“The agitation for devolution of power, restructuring or referendum, are all legitimate democratic demands. “They form part of the conversation that must take place to strengthen democracy and make it a real system of government of the people, by the people and for the people”.

Biafra: Lawyers storm US Embassy over IPOB

Mercy Lank

Some lawyers from the African continent stormed the United States Embassy on Friday in protest of the country’s refusal to recognize the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, as a terror squad. The development is coming barely 24 hours after some protesters shutdown the US Embassy over same complains. Recall that the United States Government had said it does not categorize the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a terrorist organisation under US law.

A letter signed by Barrister John Oboh, the country’s representative of the League of African Democratic Lawyers and addressed to the Ambassador of the United States of America to Nigeria, the protesting lawyers faulted the US for taking sides with the agitators. Oboh said a US endorsement of IPOB would spark a wave of separatist agitations across the continent, saying that it was pertinent that the events in Nigeria were assessed on the strength of their continental impact and global ramifications. According to the group, “Kabylie in Algeria; Lunda-Tchokwe and Cabinda in Angola; Bakassi and Ambazonia in Cameroon; Logone in Central African Republic; Anjouan in Comoros; State of South Congo in Republic of the Congo; Bas-Congo, Katanga and United Republic of Kivu in Democratic Republic of Congo, Bioko Island in Equitorial Guinea;

Islamic State of Afaria, Gambela, Ogaden, Oromia and Sidama in Ethiopia; Mombassa Republic and Western Republic of Somalia in Kenya; Cyrenaica and Touboulandin Libya; Azawad in Mali; Rif and Western Sahara in Morocco; Free State of Caprivi in Namibia, Agadez and Tenere Republic in Niger; Batwaland in Rwanda; Somaliland in Somalai; Western Cape and Volkstaat in South Africa; Nuerland in recently breakaway South Sudan; Darfur in Sudan; Zanzibar in Tanzania; Kingdom of Buganda and Yiira Republic in Uganda; Barotseland in Zambia; and Matabeleland in Zimbabwe are a few of the separatist, autonomic and secessionist groups that will grow violent like IPoB in the hope that they will get similar endorsement from the United States.”

The letter further added that the concern is that not many of these countries have the resources or the framework to contain such agitation with the efficiency with which Nigeria did without creating grave humanitarian situations that require global intervention. The letter added, “Considering that the recognition of IPoB will simultaneously reignite all these separatist movements while encouraging even the politically oriented ones among them to turn violent, the various international organizations are not equipped to deal with continent-wide pockets of violent insurrections that will result. The remaining stable countries of the world must then be prepared to host the portion of Africa’s 1.2 billion people that will pour over their borders.”

Speaking on the activities of IPOB, the group said, there is nothing indigenous about IPoB or the defunct Biafra they are striving to revive. “Our research clearly show that on the contrary, persons from the modern day are of what was the defunct Biafra are actually displacing Nigeria’s other ethnic nationalities from their ancestral land ,erode their culture and impose themselves on the commercial interests of their host communities.

UN agrees to send war crimes investigators to Yemen

Mercy Lank

The UN Human Rights Council has agreed to send war crimes investigators to Yemen, in a last-minute compromise between Western powers and Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. The council on Friday mandated UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein to send a group of "eminent experts" to Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Houthi rebels since March 2015.

The compromise was reached after Saudi Arabia and other Arab states presented an amended draft resolution that was adopted by consensus without a vote, including by Yemen's delegation. The investigation will give the strongest international component yet to an examination of rights violations by all parties in a country that the UN says faces the world's greatest humanitarian disaster. Launching the probe marks a victory for a group of European states and Canada which pushed hard for an international inquiry fully independent of the Yemeni national investigation, which the Saudis support.

The Saudi-led coalition has been accused of bombing schools, markets, hospitals and other civilian targets in support of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Houthi rebels, who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, have also been accused of major violations, which the UN team will also probe. Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said the group of experts will head to Yemen "as soon as possible and will be expected to gather their evidence and present it to the Human Rights Council a year from now". Saudi Arabia had for the past two years succeeded in blocking the rights chief's call for an international investigation. In a letter leaked to several media outlets this week, the kingdom threatened economic and diplomatic retaliation against council members who would vote in favour of the EU/Canadian proposal.

The Saudi envoy to the council, Abdulaziz Alwasil, ended up endorsing Friday's resolution, which was slightly softer than previous EU proposals. An earlier Dutch/Canadian draft had asked for a Commission of Inquiry (COI) in Yemen, the UN's highest level investigation, but that call was removed from the adopted version. Countries with significant and lucrative ties to Saudi Arabia, including the US, Britain and France, were reported to be seeking a compromise between the EU and Arab camps, which were deadlocked through the week on a resolution.

The war in Yemen has killed more than 10,000 people, according to the UN. More than 17 million Yemenis are now facing dire food shortages, and a nationwide cholera epidemic has killed more than 2,100 people since April.

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Pages

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Many Nigerians are religious, but ungodly —Pastor Awojide

Buhari's Government Requested For User Information From Facebook, Google And Twitter

Evan's-Case: Police uncover Evan’s truck yard, arrest secretary

Trump: Poor leadership by San Juan mayor

Okorocha gave me the worst advice during my presidency – Obasanjo

Tsav blasts El-rufai: ‘Stop distracting Buhari’

Is Nnamdi Kanu Dead or Alive, British Government asks FG

South Africa: Russia Makes Room for Black SA Winemakers

Friday, September 29, 2017

Treat Nigerians equally to ensure unity, US Ambassador advises Buhari

RED ALERT:Emir of katsina vows to fight for One Nigeria with his last Blood

BIAFRA:GIVE US NNAMDI KANU STATUS ,WHERE ABOUT -UN DEMANDS FROM FG

BREAKING!! Biafra : IPOB Members Protest In Israel

Biafra: Orji Kalu gives position on agitation for secession

Biafra: Lawyers storm US Embassy over IPOB

UN agrees to send war crimes investigators to Yemen

Pages

Saturday, September 30, 2017

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